Golf putter



EJE-MIM@ Mmch w49 T. 'PAlsLEY GOLF PUTTER Filed March 24, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 8, 1949 GOLF PUTTER Taylor IPaisley, FerndalegMich.

Application March 24, 1948,' SerialiNo. 16,691

'l This inventicnrelates generally to a golf putter for `putting a-golf ball into a conventional cup in a-golf course green, and more particularly to a golf putter employing a sighting device for enabling the user of the putter to positivelyposition the striking face of the latter perpendicularto the desired path of movement of agolf ball between the putter andthe cup in the'golf course green.

This invention is a continuati'on'in part of my copending application, Serial No. 778,887, led October 9, 1947, whichhas become abandoned.

v The principal objects of this invention are to provide an improved vgolf putter having a sighting device incorporated in the head thereof so asto permit the user of the putter to positively position the striking face thereof in a perpendicular relationshipto the desired path ofmovement of a golf `ball between the putter head and the cup in the golf course green; to provide a golf putter of the aforementioned typein which the sighting device incorporates an inclined-mirror disposed above the striking face of the putter, which has a reference indicia thereonadaptedltobe aligned by auser with a flag pin, in the cupin a golf course green, and a horizontal mirror having a reference indicia thereon with which the user of the putter Aaligns the `image of his eyes; to provide a golf putter of the aforementioned type in which the aforementioned mirrors are embedded in the putter head so as Lto be protected against'any 'dat blows to which the putter head may be subjected; to vprovide an improved golf putter of the aforementioned type in which the horizontal mirror is disposed rearwardly of the inclined mirror and the striking face of the putter head and below fthe inclined mirror so as to be adjacent the bottom of the putter head so as to provide a more desirably balanced and weighted putter; to provide a golf putter of the aforementioned type which is especially neat-in appearance, relatively inexpensive to'manufacture, exceptionally eiicient in operation, and rugged in construction.

These and'other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following'detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of one embodiment of the golf putter of this'invention;

Fig. 2 is a View partially'in elevation andpartially in section of the'putter illustratedin'Fig. 1, taken along the'line 2--2"thereof;

Iliglfis a sectional view ofthe structureillustrated in Fig. 2,' taken along"thelinel 3--3 thereof;

Wig. `lis a "view-'o'fiaipersonus'ing thel putter, illustrating 'the 'manner 'in which the putter lis usedinfordento properly alignthe striking face thereof 4`with a 'cupi in a Y' conventional Zgolf course green;

`lfigjis atopfview similarto Fig-2,.illustrating a `furtl'ierembodiment of the invention;

Fig 6 is a "top viewsimilar i' tofFig. 5, illustrating a still further embodiment fof'theinvention; and

lFig. 'r'is-aitopfplanviewoffthe targetrange and alignment devices byimeans-of whionthe mirrors and indicia on -fsai'd mirrors `are positioned klso as to provide a positively accurate inished lputter.

Referring now -tot'heidrawings and more particularly toFigs. =13, it will be seen that the=put ter includes a conventional shaft f5 :having =a putterheadfl connected'to thelower end thereof in 1any suitable manner. The `-hea`d I:i1 may-iba made -of any `suitable xlmaterial, 4such as metal, plastic or wood, and -is fprovided with a -front substantially vertical `striking 'fface "1.) which is adaptedfor-use 1in' striking-a` golfI ball lin order to drive the same toward a --cup in thegolffcourse green. "Theputter'head'l-is formed Witharear- -wardlyinclinediace H whichexten'ds upwardly -from the'upperedge 'of thelp'utter'head'striking face 9. V'Ihein'clinedfa-ce H'isEprovi'dedwithLa generally rectangular-shaped, `vlaterally extendingrecess i12 inwhichalrefiecting 'elementfsuch asa-flat mirror l-3,is disposed. The "mirror i3 is secured'infthe recess I-'2in= any suitablema'nner, such as by cementing the mirror VinV the-recess i IQ Within the-connes-of the-peripheral edges W5. The-upper surface offthe mirror is ltherefore-'disposed below lthe upper surface of the inclined fputterhead face lil so-fas to be protected against any flat blows which may strike theiputter head face i-l. The mirror Itis etched or otherwise suitably marked to provide va `central sighting line I1, anda plurality of laterally spaced auxiliary sighting lines i8, on each -s'ide` of 'the central sighting line, for use which will hereinafter appear. The linesill and i8 lieinlverticalplanes which are normal `totl'ieplane of thesftriking aceB.

The putter head -1 is formed, adjacentithebottornf ace `l 9 thereof ,s withA a vrearwardlyextending boss'or projection "2l `which has `a substantially flat 'and horizontal upper face `"23. 'The `face "'23 is recessed l'at'Zi'i to `receivetlrierein a reflecting element, such Eas a general-lyreetangulareshaped flat mirror 21. The mirroris securedinthe-recess 25, 1within `the 'confines of 'the peripheral edges j29, by a suitable cement or 'thelike The mirror 21 is thus embedded in the face 23 and protected against any flat blows which may be struck against the face 23. The mirror 21 is etched or otherwise suitably marked to provide a sighting line 3| which, as can be seen in Fig. 2, extends parallel to the sighting line I1 of the mirror I3. While the mirror 21 is illustrated as being disposed below the mirror I3, it will be appreciated that the vertical position of the mirror 21 with respect to the mirror I3 may be varied, and the mirror may, if desired, be disposed directly behind and in horizontal alignment with the upper edge of the mirror I3. By providing the projection 2| adjacent the bottom of the putter head 1, the putter head is weighted and balanced in a more suitable manner so that, when the striking face 9 engages a golf ball, the latter will be driven in an easier and more efficient manner.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5 is identical with the embodiment previously described with the exception of the markings on the mirrors I3 and 21. In this embodiment, the inclined mirror I3 has a central dotlike mark 45 and a plurality of laterally spaced auxiliary dotlike marks 41 etched or otherwise suitably marked thereon. The horizontal mirror 21 has a dotlike reference mark 49 etched or otherwise suitably marked thereon. The positions of the marks 45, 41 and 49 on their respective mirrors are determined in a manner which will be hereinafter pointed out.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6 is identical with the previous embodiments described with the exception of the indicia or markings on the mirrors I3 and 21. In this embodiment, the mirror I3 is provided with the central sighting line I1 and auxiliary sighting lines I3 as described in connection with the embodiments illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. The horizontal mirror 21 has an indicia in the form of a dotlike reference mark 50 etched or otherwise suitably marked thereon in the same manner as illustrated on the mirror 21 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 5. The position and location of the sighting lines I1 and I8 and the reference mark 50 are determined in a manner which will hereinafter appear.l While in this embodiment the mirror I3 is provided with a reference indicia in the form of a line and the mirror 21 is provided with a reference indicia in the form of a dotlike mark 50, it will be appreciated thatthe mirror I3 of this embodiment may be provided with a central dotlike mark 5I and auxiliary laterally spaced dotlike marks 52 as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. When the mirror I3 has dotlike marks thereon, the mirror 21 may be provided with a reference indicia in the form of a line 53 as illustrated in dot and dash lines in Fig. 6. That is, if desired, one mirror may be provided With indicia in the form of a line while the other mirror is provided with indicia in the form of dotlike marks and the sighting device and putter will operate satisfactorily irrespective of the type of marking or indicia on each mirror.

It will thus be seen that in the three embodiments described above, the construction of the putter and sighting devices is identical with the exception of the type of indicia on the mirrors, and the putter may be used satisfactorily, in order to produce extremely accurate results, with any of the aforementioned or other suitable types of indicia on the mirrors.

The inclined mirror I3 is provided to enable the user of the putter to View a target, such as a flag pin in the cup of a golf course green, therein; and the indicia on the mirror I3 is provided in order to enable the user to superimpose the image of the target on the indicia. The use of only a single mirror or reflecting surface, such as the mirror I3, would not enable the user to positively position the striking face 9 of the putter perpendicular to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target, and it is therefore necessary to provide a reference mark to be used in conjunction with the indicia on the mirror I3 in order to insure that the striking face will always be perpendicular to the desired path of movement of the golf ball. In other words, if only the mirror I3 were employed, the user would have no way of knowing that he was viewing the indicia on the mirror I3 from the same position every time he used the putter. It is for this reason that the mirror 21 and the indicia thereon are provided. By using the reference indicia on the mirror 21, in a manner which will hereinafter appear, the user is assured that the striking face of the putter head will be perpendicular to the desired path of movement of the golf ball at all times.

In order to position the indicia on the mirrors I3 and 2T so as to produce this desired result, a target range, such as that illustrated in Fig. '1, is employed by the manufacturer to properly locate and position the indicia on each mirror. The target range illustrated in Fig. '1 includes a suitable target 54 which may be of any suitable type, such as a pin point of light. A stand, such as a block of cement 55, is spaced a substantial distance from the target 54 and has a plate 51 rigidly secured thereto, such as by bolts 59. The plate 51 is provided with flat, opposed edges or side faces 6I and the plate 51 is mounted on the block I55 so that the edges or faces 6I are at right angles to a line 63 which intersects the target 54. In other words, the faces 6I are at right angles to a line drawn between the target 55 and the faces 6I. The golf putter, on which the reference and sighting indicia are to be aligned, is set on the block 55 with the striking face `Il thereof engaging and abutting the back edge or face 6I of the plate 51. A suitable clamping device E3 is mounted on the block 55 for clamping the putter head in the position shown. Thus, when the putter head is clamped in this position, the striking face 9 is positively positioned at right angles to the line or path of travel 53. Mounted on the block 55 ahead of the plate 51 is an inclined mirror `65 which has the same type of indicia thereon as the mirror I3 which is mounted on the putter head being aligned. The mirror G55 is located so that the image of the target 54 will be superimposed on the central indicia thereof.

When the putter head is clamped in position as previously described, the mirrors I3 and 21, with the indicia marked thereon7 are movably positioned in their respective putter head recesses, which have suitable mastic-type material or the like disposed therein. An operator then stands or positions his head above the clamped putter head and moves the mirror I3 in its recess I2 until the central indicia thereon, Whether it be the sighting line I 1 or a dot 45 or 5I, is aligned with the central indicia of the mirror 65 which is mounted on the block 55. The operator will then be able to View the target 54 through the mirror I3 and will have the image of the target superimposed on the central indicia of the mirror I 3. It will be appreciated, however, that the fixed mirror 65 on the block is not necessary, but it ydoes aid in permitting the operator to obtain a quick alignment. The important thing is that the operator position the mirror I3, in the putter head, so that the tar-get image is superimposed on the sighting indicia. The mirror i3 is then in its final set position and can be anchored in `this position in the manner described heretofore.

The operator then, while maintaining the image of the target 54 in coincidence with the central indicia of the mirror i3, moves the horizontal mirror 2l to a position in which the image of his eye, or eyes, will be superimposed on the .reference indicia of the mirror 2, whether the same be the reference line 3l or the dotlike mark 149 or `513. There is only one position or iooation of the reference indicia on the mirror El, which with respect to the operators eyes will permit the operator to both superimpose the image oi his eye, or eyes, on the reference indicia while at the same time maintaining the image f the target in coincidence with the sighting indicia on the mirror I3. The indicia on the mirror 27! will not be for all putters in the same vertical plane as the indicia on the mirror i3 and the fact that the indicia are in alignment with each other, or in the same vertical plane, may only be coincidental. The exact position of the indicia of various putters will Vary in accordance with the position of the mirrors and the position of the operator when the mirror indicia are in alignment. However, regardless of whether the indicia on the mirror I3 are in the center of the mirror or putter head and whether the indicia on the mirror 2l' are in the center of the mirror or in one corner thereof, there is oniy one location of both indicia which will accomplish the desired result, and this location of the indicia is determined by positioning the mirrors with the indicia thereon so that the user or operato-r Asimultaneously superimposes the image of his eye, or eyes, on the indicia on mirror 2i and the target image on the indicia on mirror I3. The mirror 21 is then permanently clamped or secured vin its recess 25, as described above, so that, when the putter is removed from the target range and placed in the hands of a user, the striking face Q will always be perpendicular to the desired path of movement between it and the target when the user has positioned the putter head so as to place the image of the target in coincidence with the sighting indicia on the mirror i3 and at the same time have the image of his eye, or eyes, in coincidence with the reference indicia on the mirror 21.

In this way, the manufacturer positions and locates the sighting and reference indicia of the mirrors and clamps or mounts with mirrors permanently in this position so that the user of the putter will always be able to obtain the abovementioned desired result.

Thus, in operation as can be seen in Fig. 4, the user of the putter grasps the handle on the end of the putter shaft 5 in a conventional manner and places the striking face 9 of the putter head in an abutting relation to, or immediately behind, a golf ball 3i which is to be putted. If the putter being used is of the type illustrated in Fig. 2, that is, wherein both a sighting line l'u and reference line 3| are employed, the user positions the putter and looks down into the horizontal mirror 2l, as indicated by dot and dash line t8, so that the image of his eyes will be bisected by the reference line 3l and at the same time the user makes sure that the image of the target,

such as aflag `pin in the cup 39,in a conventional golf course green, vis superimposedion Vthe central sighting line I1 or one of the-auxiliary sighting lines I8 of the inclined mirror I3. If lthe :golf ball is to be putted fon a `straight line into the cup 39, thecentral sighting line IIis used; but, if irregularities or a roll in the golf course green have to be compensated for, one ofthe sighting lines I3 is used, depending upon the `necessary amount of compensation. Thus, when the user has the target superimposed on the sighting line I? and the image of `his eyes superimposed on the reference line 3l, the striking face 9 of the .putter head will lie in a plane perpendicular to thedesired path of movement of a golf ball 3l' toward the cup 39 as indicated by the dot and dash line 4 l. Therefore, if the user swings the putter head rearwardly and then forwardly on a straight line, the striking face 9 `will hit the golf ball 3'! and move the same along the path el and into the cup 39.

If the putter head being used has indicia thereon, such as illustrated in Fig. 5, the user follows the same 'procedure as mentioned above except that he superimposes the image oi one of his eyes on the reference dot 49 on the mirror 21 and superi-mposes the image of the target on the sighting dot 15, or one of the auxiliary sighting dots i? on the mirror i3. It will thus be readiiy appreciated that the employment of dotlike marks will work as satisfactorily as the employment of line-type indicia.

Ii the putter being used is of the type illustrated in r'g. 6, the same procedure as above described is followed; thatis, the user either bisects the image oi his eyes with the reference line 53 or superimposes the image of one of his eyes on the reference dot 5% and then superimposes the image of the target on either the sighting dot el or sighting line i' on the mirror I3.

it will thus be appreciated that the type of sighting and reference indicia employed is not important; but rather the importance resides in the fact that a reference indicia is provided for insuring that the user will View the sighting indicia in the same way at all times, thus permitting the user properly and positively to align the striking face 9 with respect to the target and therefore eliminate the present inaccuracies in putting wherein it is impossible for the user to positively determine that the striking face of the putter is properly aligned with respect to the flag pin in the cup of the golf course green. It will also be apparent that this putter is relatively rugged vin construction because of the embedded mirrors in the golf club head so that the mirrors will not be easily broken. Likewise, the putter of this invention is of a suflcient size and shape with respect to conventional putters now in use that it can easily be carried in a golf bag in the same manner as conventional putters.

What is claimed is:

l. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, means carried by said putter for enabling the user thereof to positively position said striking face in a position normal to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the putter face and a desired target including an angularly disposed reecting surface in which the user can view an image of said target, a reference mark on said reflecting surface, a second reecting surface arranged on said putter head adjacent said first reiiecting surface, and a reference mark on said second reiiecting surface, said striking face automatically assuming the desired normal relationship relative to said path of movement when the putter head is moved by the user to a position where, simultaneously with the coincidence of the target image on said rst reference mark, the image of the users eyes is superimposed on said second reference mark.

2. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, means carried by said putter head for enabling the user thereof to positively position said striking face in a position normal to a line intersecting a desired target, including an angularly disposed reilector element in which the user can view an image of said target, a reference mark carried by said element, a second reflector element arranged on said putter head adjacent said rst reflector element, and a second reference mark carried by said second reflector element, said striking face automatically assuming the desired normal relationship relative to said target line when the putter head is moved by the user to a position where, simultaneously with the coincidence of the target image on said rst reference mark, the image of the users eyes is superimposed on said second reference mark.

3. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a reflecting surface on said putter head extending upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said so that a user of said putter can view a target therein, a reference indicia positioned with respect to said reflecting surface so that, `when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path oi movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target, the image of the target on said reflecting surface will be disposed in superimposed relationship to said reference indicia, a second reflecting surface on said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the golf putter is being used, a reference indicia positioned with respect to said second reflecting surface so that, when the striking face is disposed perpendicular to said desired path of travel and the image of the target is disposed in superimposed relationship to the irst reference indicia, the image of the users eyes will be disposed in superimposed relationship to said second reference indicia whereby, when the user superimposes the image of his eyes in relation to said second reference indicia and aligns said rst reference indicia with the target, the striking face of said putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target at all times.

4. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a reflecting surface on said putter head extending upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said striking face so that a user of said putter can View a target therein, a sighting line positioned on said reflecting surface so that when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path of ymovement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target the image of the target on said reflecting surface will be superimposed on said sighting line, said sighting line lying in a vertical plane which is normal to the plane of said striking face, a second reflecting surface on said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the golf putter is being used, a reference line positioned on said second reflecting surface and extending parallel to said sighting line on said rst reflecting surface so that striking face when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to said desired path of travel and the user has aligned the sighting line with said target the image of the users eyes will be bisected by said reference line whereby, when the user bisects the image of his eyes with said reference line and bisects the image of said target with said sighting line, the striking face of said putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target at all times.

5. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a reilecting surface on said putter head extending upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said striking face so that the user of said putter can view a target therein, a dotlike mark positioned on said reflecting surface so that when the striking face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target the image of the target on said reflecting surface will be superimposed on said dotlike mark, a second reflecting surface on said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the golf putter is being used, a dotlike mark positioned on said second reecting surface so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to Said desired path of travel and the user has superimposed said target on said rst dotlike mark, the image of the users eye will be superimposed on said second dotlike mark whereby, when the user superimposes the image of his eye on said second dotlike mark and superimposes the image of the target on said rst dotlike mark, the striking face of said putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target at all times.

6. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a reflecting surface on said putter head extending upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said striking face so that a user of said putter can view a target therein, a sighting line positioned on said reflecting surface and lying in a vertical plane which is normal to the plane of said striking face so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target, the image of the target on said reflecting surface will be bisected by said sighting line, a second reecting surface on said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the golf putter is being used, a reference mark positioned on said second reflecting surface so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to said desired path of travel and the user has bisected the image of said target with said sighting line, the image of the users eye will be superimposed on said reference mark whereby, when the user superimposes the image of his eye on said reference mark and bisects the image of said target with said sighting line, the striking face of said putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target at all times.

'7. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a reecting surface on said putter head extending upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said striking face so that a user of said putter can view a target therein, a reference mark positioned on said reecting surface so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking vface and the target, the image of the target on said reflecting surface will be superimposed on said mark, a second reecting surface on said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the golf putter is being used, a reference line on said second reflecting surface lying in a vertical plane which is normal to the plane of said striking face so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to said desired path of travel and the user has superimposed the image of the target on said mark, the image of the users eyes will be bisected by said reference line whereby, when the user bisects the image of his eyes with said reference line and superimposes the image of said target on said mark, the striking face of said putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target at all times.

8. A golf putter including a putter head having a substantially vertical striking face, a mirror disposed above and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the striking face at an angle of substantially 45 with respect to the striking face so that a user of the putter can view a target therein, said mirror being embedded in said putter head so as to be partially protected from blows on the putter head, a reference indicia positioned on said inclined mirror so that, when the striking l0 face is disposed perpendicular to the desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face and the target, the image of the target on said inclined mirror will be superimposed on said indicia, a second mirror disposed rearwardly of said first mirror in a substantially horizontal plane with respect to the striking face of said putter head on which the image of the users eyes can be projected when the putter is being used, said second mirror being disposed below and behind said inclined mirror and being embedded in said putter head adjacent the bottom thereof, reference indicia positioned on said second mirror so that, when said striking face is disposed perpendicular to said desired path of travel and the user has superimposed the image of said target on said rst reference indicia, the image of the users eye will be superimposed on said second reference indicia whereby, when the user superimposes the image of his eye on said second reference indicia and superimposes the image of the target on said iirst reference indicia, the striking face of the putter head will be positively positioned perpendicular to said desired path of movement of a golf ball between the striking face of the putter head and the target at all times.

TAYLOR PAISLEY.

No references cited. 

